Soon many of us will set our clocks back an hour for the time change. The decreased light and alteration in schedules can certainly be frustrating. However, it does reveal early sunsets, which remind us there is beauty despite the darkness. Pink and blue colors juxtaposed with dark tree shadows with autumn leaves still clinging on.
Halloween is approaching with all its haunts and hallows. Skeleton dances, bats flying in the air, and closing doors so monsters do not come into the room. Classroom parties with tossing lizards into pumpkin buckets, ghost crafts, and trick or treating up and down the neighborhood.
These days bring more nights, but different colors and fun memories. It reminds me of my early childhood when I would visit my grandparents after dark around Halloween. There was a spooky, yet comforting vibe in the air. My grandma would tell Halloween stories to my cousins and I. Filled with mystery, our young imaginations came to life. She chased us up and down the stairs as a “mad ladybug." They also told us to be careful in the basement since there may be a werewolf chained up in one of the closets. I recall a walk with my cousins that may have “lions, tigers, and bears." All of this was done playfully and we enjoyed it.
During this time when I was young, my grandparents went through a tragedy and lost a child. I do not remember sadness in the air as a four-year-old, but I remember these spooky stories and chases. Now that decades have gone, many of my grandparents have passed away. However, as I write this now, I see my grandpa’s star. It is actually Saturn or Jupiter. The star is shining brightly in the pink sky that is gradually turning grey blue as the dusk sets in.
The reason I call it my grandpa’s star is because of how I saw it after he passed. He never was able to meet my youngest due to the pandemic restrictions. One day, a few months after he was gone, she was fussy and only wanted me to hold her. We stepped outside on a warm late summer evening and looked up in the sky. I saw this star bright as can be. A feeling of grandpa watching us and meeting my baby came over me I cannot put into words. It is one of those unexplainable moments in life only God knows. Ever since, whenever I see that star I know he is watching.
I look up now and see two bright stars. Perhaps the other star is their child who passed too soon. They are up there together reconnecting with each other and still watching over us. Just as all our loved ones are.
Thanks for taking the time to read! What are your thoughts? Let me know at: valerie.probstfeld@tomomistolove.com
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